For All Our Sins (O/F)

[Xothe_jer_bearXo]

Wearing

Alex had had the worst day of the year so far, well at least one of the worst days. Not only did she have a raging headache the entire night before but she also had to oversee the stealing of the De Luca's weapons. Toni trusted no one else but her and it was part of the job. Although the man had received quiet an earful from her before she had left. It had been a very long night and when she got home she climbed into bed with the covers over her head and slept the day away. She had only been disturbed once when Mama Moretti came in and roused her. She had seen the disapproving look on the older woman's face when she peeled back the covers but instead of saying anything the woman had just smiled and asked to join her in the kitchen. When she did, the kitchen smelled heavenly, the woman had been cooking, which was nothing normal. And so to help ease her mind and the older woman's, Alex joined her and began making something special for Toni.

It was sort of an apology for the way she behaved the night before but that was nothing new. The tension between the two was palpable. Everyone knew something was going on but no one knew what exactly and neither did she. The two had been best friends for sixteen years now and one day Toni started treating her differently. Over the months their tempers had flared, words of regret had been said but at times it was like nothing had changed and then something would happen and they would be back at odds with each other. Alex hated it, hated the way Toni had changed, she couldn't say she was expecting it because she was. She knew what this job could do to someone, she had seen it turn people into their worst person possible and she had hoped and prayed that Toni wouldn't change but it seemed her prayers had went unanswered. She also knew that she wasn't helping by always questioning everything he did and sometimes had snapped at him in front of the others. If it wasn't for the friendship, she was afraid that he would have done something or said something but the man had it coming, he was so freaking pigheaded and stubborn. He had shut her out and it infuriated her. Everyone knew that she had a temper and while had kept to herself until she met Toni, she wasn't the same girl anymore, hadn't been for a long time.

There were several reasons for her to be thankful for Toni and the Moretti's. The first was Toni had been her first friend, she didn't know what she would do without him. Second, was they had taken her in like their own when her grandmother had passed away. Alex didn't have any family left, her own parents had died in a car crash when she was just a toddler. The minutes had passed by and before she knew it she had finished helping Mama Moretti with dinner and had stuck Toni's dessert in the fridge, with For Toni, in big bold letters and underneath, I'm sorry. She had seen the look Mama had given her when she saw the note and she knew the woman would want to know what had happened but if she wanted answers she'd have to go talk to her son and Alex knew she would do just that.

Dinner for her was hell, she had to sit across the table from Toni, which was nothing normal but the fact they were once again at odds with each other didn't help. She knew that she all she had to do was apologize, she just didn't know if it would help. So there she sat, glowering at the food, not really participating in table talk, though when asked by Papa Moretti, she had chalked it up to not feeling well. Halfway through she excused herself, she couldn't stand being that close to Toni and not being able to say anything to him. She knew most of it, if not all, was her fault and had the option of making it better but she didn't know how to feel and with the way things were with him, she was just to pissed off at the moment. About an hour later, Lex had made her way into the more famous of the Moretti clubs. Within moments, she had blended into the overflowing mass of bodies and lost herself in the music.

[lumineerpioneer]

Darcia was having a pretty crappy day so far.The Moretti's stole a hefty amount of weapons from them without triggering her built in alarm system,everybody was pissed off at her,and she ran out of Zebra Cakes.She was on the edge at this point.How they stole that much without her knowing was enough to send her reeling.She was so humilated.This was her job.She was supposed to ensure the saftey of not only their shipments,but their well-being as well!She was a failure..She let her head drop on the table with a soft thump,a network of screens blinking down at her.Some were of the Moretti's place,others were police scanners that she tapped into,and the rest were of their own security.She was still working on them,straining to see if she missed something,ANYTHING.With her head still on the cold steel table,her hand reached for a half-empty bag of chips.She needed a break.Anymore of this and her head would surely explode.A shiver went down her spine thinking about how calm the others would be seeing her remains.This was this line of work after all...She shook her head and continued to munch of her processed chips.

With all the junk food she ate is was miracle was was as lean as she was today.She barely set a foot out of her room to work-out;only for showering,food,or other pressing matters.If it weren't for her ridiculously high-metabolism,she'd be a big blobby bob.But a smart blobby bob.The thought caused the brunette to crack a smile just then.Getting up from her rolling chair,she stretched her arms over her head and popped her back with a groan.Being a techie for the mafia had its advantages and disadvantages.One one hand,she could have as much tech and goodies she could want.On the other,she had mega high levels of stress and back pains. But she couldn't complain.She would be at home in her tiny apartment still working for sleaze balls if the Del Luca's hadn't employed her services.And for that,she was grateful.

She walked out of her room and headed towards the living room.The others were probably out setting up the plan for tonight.She didn't exactly approve of torching up a club,but it wasn't really her call.She was just a techie.Still,the plan was a bit barbaric to her.But hey,they didn't exactly have time to plan it all out accordingly.of they waited too long without retaliation,the Moretti's would see them as weak and automatically call victory.True words from War and Peace,in a way.She was smart,yeah;but that didn't mean she'd read that big hunk of pages.That thing was almost as big as the Bible!More or less..

She shook her head and went towards the kitchen,glancing at the wall clock as she did.She almost had a heart attack right there.It was 9?!She had been working for 13 hours straight.She shook her head,opening the fridge on the hunt for some real food.She took workaholic to a whole new level.She hope the others would come home soon.The house felt empty without the usual noise of everybody else moving around.

outfit

[f a l l i n 4 d a n c e]

The day passed quickly, like steadily falling sand in an hourglass as Toni went from task to task. Or rather he would have liked to have gone from task to task, but, like sand, the day slipped away from him too quickly for him to do much of what he had intended. With the news of the successful raid on the DeLuca's weapons the hub of the Moretti clan was abuzz with activity and conversation. Toni had spent the day talking with one person or another, on the phone, or in the room, while his mind was on one particular task that he never had gotten around to. Lex. Every time he even had a moment to think about going to see her something had come up.

When the raid had left last night they had left Toni in one of his horrible tempers, the type that caused him to pace his study and clench his jaw whenever anyone said anything. Likely what was the root of it was that she would never know, nor would he admit, how much he had wanted to go - simply to guard her. If only it meant as a human shield. But instead of her understanding anything of that, she had not only dove head first into danger, but she'd argued with him on the best way to do it. How could she not see that he was only trying to protect them. Part of his mind wondered if his need to protect his family and their friend, and namely one certain person, was hindering his ability to do his job. Because after all, he'd wanted them to be safe, but he knew well enough that safe didn't yield the results the Moretti's longed for.

By the time the mob of people had gathered at the kitchen table Toni had reasoned that instead of approaching Lex, the best way to go about the situation was to leave her on her own. He knew she'd come around, she always did. Besides, his excuse, or so he reasoned, had been that he had wanted to make sure she was alright after the night before. Clearly she was, he thought as he glanced at her over the cacophony of a typical more than family dinner. Before Toni could think of something she was gone from the meal altogether. Toni rose to follow but his mother gave him a look.

"Where do you think you are going? There are still dishes." Toni groaned. Washing and drying the endless mounds of dishes was the most menial task in his mother's arsenal, the one which when indicated to an unwilling participant usually resulted in intensive interrogation. She must have caught wind of what had happened with Lex last night. Then again, who hadn't? Toni wondered. Most just kept it to their selves or better yet, didn't even think about it.

Toni sighed and began to pile plates up as people gradually cleared out of the room. "Mama, I have to head out. I've got a meeting with the guys." He knew it was useless to argue as he dumped the plates into the sink. His mother turned, her pudgy hands balled on her wide hips as she leveled him with a look he had only ever seen directed him. Cowed, Toni spent the next hour washing and drying the dishes - by hand. His mother refused to let a single one land in the dishwasher, an invention that Toni had expect to thrill her when his father had finally installed one during Toni's early teen years, but instead had been avoided as 'the work of the devil himself' ever since.

When Toni had finally managed to extract himself his mother had the whole story, as only mothers can get and she left the kitchen with a kiss of his cheek. "Don't forget to put the leftovers in the fridge." And she was gone, untying her apron as she went. Another sigh escaped Toni's lips as he piled the leftovers into his arms and opened the fridge. In front of him sat a tiramisu and judging by the writing he knew it would be his favorite. The kind that only Lex had perfected. Toni smiled slightly as he slid it out, alone in the kitchen. She hadn't needed to say sorry, all he had needed to know was that she was home safe to forgive her. With a sigh Toni grabbed a spoon and ate a good portion of the dessert before he headed up to his room to change. First thing was first, business.

It was one of the biggest clubs in the Moretti holdings, as Toni had been well aware of since he was a child, that Toni pulled up to a while later. Outside the door a bouncer kept a line at bay, Toni waved, "Evening Al." As he walked past the large man. He by passed the throng of dancers pounding together to the sound of the music, nodded at the bartender, and entered a small back door - usually assumed to be a VIP lounge. The music was quieter here, the beat soft against the walls, a few of his guys milled around the room, waiting for the meeting. They should be out celebrating, Toni knew that, but they also knew that they needed to plan the next attack after the first one had gone so well. The rest would be here in a bit. Toni wasn't too worried about it as he sat down on a couch and listened to the conversations near him.

[owlskulls]

"When I throw my clip in the AK, I slay from far away.
Everybody, hit the d-e-c-k."

"AK-47, the very best there is.
when you absolutely, positively,
gotta kill every [********] in the room,
accept no substitutes."

Volkov residence, in the company of idiots.

A series of loud crashing sounds echoed from the basement of the Volkov house, followed by one man stumbling up the staircase into the entrance foyer, cupping his nose with his hand in a hopeless attempt to hide the blood seeping through his fingers. He fumbled for the handle of the front door with a trembling hand. "What's the matter, Peter? What's all this noise about?" came a voice from the top of the stairs. Startled, the man turned, both hands shooting up in a show of vulnerability, causing the blood to stream down onto the hardwood floors. Relieved to see it was only his boss' elderly butler Anita, Peter lowered his arms, pointing to the staircase leading down to the 'Dungeon' as the rest of the men tend to call the basement.

Shaking her head, Anita waved the younger man off, which he took gladly, and bolted out of the house. The woman slowly decedent down the staircase leading to the lowest level of the home, knocking once before allowing herself in. She didn't bat an eye at the scene she walked in to. A handful of young men were laying around the marble floor, bleeding from various areas of their bodies, she cringed only slightly at Vladimir's grotesquely twisted arm as she stepped over the grunting men towards the head of the house.

Katerina was sitting at her usual armchair at the back of the large room, her eyes moving from one motionless man to another, until finally locking on her servant as she approached her side. The older woman didn't say anything, instead, taking a stand on Katerina's right side, put a hand on the younger woman's shoulder. "Svolochi," Kat hissed in Russian, kicking the closest of the men in his ribs, "I specifically ordered them to deliver the crates by noon," she murmured, standing up and crossing the room, Anita at her heel, carefully avoiding the - hopefully - unconscious, and not dead, bodies, "Did they have problems?"

Reaching the top of the stairs, Katerina continued up to the second landing, "They managed to be more than three hours late!" the brown hair woman snapped, walking into her bedroom and flinging her closet door open, "Dare tell me they were stuck in traffic, the dalbayube," she growled, "This was supposed to be a day of victory, but I cannot help feel like I am dealing with amateurs!" the young Volkov continued ranting while pulling out her outfit for the meeting with the Moretti's at their respectful club.

Sure, things for the family seemed to be going in their favor, unfortunately, Volkov is not really part of the family, and although Katerina had secured a reserved seat at the meetings, she could not take credit for much of the gang's accomplishments. She was sorely reminded time and time again that she had her own men to keep an eye on - if she wanted to keep the business with the Moretti afloat. "Their negligence could cost me my connection to the Moretti, I cannot afford to lose my business, Anita."

Pulling a black dress over her head, Katerina turned to let Anita zip up the back while she pulled her long hair up. "You're too hard on them, detka, the boys aspire to please you," Anita cooed, holding up Kat's leather jacket, "You remind them of your father when you act so violently," she noted, "It's unsettling." Watching the Volkov heiress step into her boots, the butler followed as she headed down again.

Pausing at the door, Katerina turned and smiled at Anita, "You remind me of Baba Elizabeth," she mused, her blue eyes fixed on the woman, "Make sure to clean up the mess downstairs." With that, she closed the door behind her, stepping into the sidewalk, where her driver was already waiting. "Good evening Ms. Volkova," he greeted, but did not get a hello in return as the woman slid into the back seat of the black Jaguar.

The drive was fairly short, as Katerina's father loved being in the center of any city, which did not allow her time to get impatient with the ride. Once outside the club, the driver rushed to open her door, not expecting a thank you. Katerina cut the line without a word to the bouncer, and pushed past the massive crowd of people inside until she reached the bar. Giving the bartender a smile, which he returned instantly as he hurried to pour the woman a glass of clear liquor. She did not linger, annoyed with the clueless stares of other men, grabbing her glass Kat made her way over to the back room.

She wasn't surprised to find the room full of people already when she walked in, but the presence of Mr. Moretti did. Taking a generous sip of her drink, the one known as Kalashnikova in this business approached her leader in crime. "My father always told me to arrive suspiciously late to meetings I host," Katerina said, her accent heavy, "You American's are strange, I don't think I'll ever get used to your schedules."

Katerina had to admit she liked Antonio's approach to business, it was very... quiet. She was far too familiar with the vulgarity and loud nature of her own people. This man was different, he held some class. True family man. "How is your mother doing? Did you bring me some of her legendary entrees?" She asked with a teasing voice, knowing he did not. There will come a day. Speaking of family, Kat looked around, "Is your cousin not present? And Alexandra?"


Moretti's club, in the company of Antonio Moretti.

[Xothe_jer_bearXo]

Wearing

The bodies pressed against each other, the loud music in the air and her body swaying in time with the music was exactly what she needed after the day she had. Of course there was several other things she would like to do but one of those was not an option. Oh, what she would give for it to happen though. It would make her the happiest girl in the world, at least for that moment in time. Being able to be with Toni would make her the happiest girl alive, she was very much in love with him, she had only recently begun to accept it, as she was unsure of how he felt towards her. Lately though it seemed like he wanted nothing to do with her, he just keep pushing her farther and farther away.

She didn't know what she would do if she could no longer be in his life, though she doubted it would ever come to that but lately she just didn't know what Toni was thinking or feeling. While it angered her, it hurt her more, to know that her best friend had shut her out. It was like a knife had been buried deep inside, yet to be removed, the wound festering. Lex knew that she should come clean with Toni, tell him how she felt but in all honesty she was scared and that was something she hadn't felt in a really long time. She had never been good at keeping her temper in check but all the other emotions were kept at bay. The struggle for her was to not let anyone know what she was going through, Mama Moretti knew more than enough, as usual and Lex had begged her not to say anything, though she knew it was only a matter of time before the older woman took matters into her own hands and that thought in and of itself was terrifying.

The young woman was still dancing away, eyes closed, not paying attention to what was going on, to worried about her inner turmoil to really care. One moment there was space behind her and the next someone was pressed up against her. Instantly her eyes shot open, it wasn't new for the dance floor to get crowded and while she was used to the close contact it often brought something had her on edge. The man's arms snaked around her front holding her closer to him, she immediately began to remove them, right at the same time the man whispered in her ear all the things he would do to her if she would let him take her home. Disgusted, she pried his filthy hands off of her and began to walk away but the man didn't know who she was and grabbed her arm, pulling her to stop. Instinctively, Alex brought her arm up and punched him in the face, at the same time kneeing him in the groan. The people around them had moved, giving them space. Looking down at the man who had curled up into a ball, "You should look up the definition of the word no and when a woman tells you no, it means no."

She could feel the eyes on her as she walked away, sure that who over had been upstairs had gotten a good view of the show. Before she walked upstairs, she stopped at the bar and got a rag, to wipe the blood off her hand, she was sure she had broken the man's nose but he had deserved it. Lex also knew that if Toni had seen what had happened he would either yell at her or scold her later, it didn't really bother her though, she had done what she thought was right and there had been no other way. Upon opening the door, she noticed almost everyone had arrived, except for Gio. As she walked by to stand near the couch Toni was sitting on, she couldn't help but notice his tie was a bit crooked. She debated on what to do and before she could stop herself, she leaned over and straightened it. If she was going to get reprimanded for the scene downstairs, might as well throw that in as well because she was pretty sure that if Gio had walked in and saw it, he would have commented on it. After taking her place in the room, closest to Toni, her eyes looked over the people, her eyes settling on Katerina Volkova. Kat was the weapons expert for the Moretti's and often helped them out with the weapons business with the Russians, while Kat was just an honorary Moretti, Lex still liked her, she nodded to the woman in greeting. "Just waiting on Gio, or are we going to start without him?"

[f a l l i n 4 d a n c e]

████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████The Mob Princess
███████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████

Rosabella was the first person to know that there was no such thing as a nice calm day in her home. There was always an undertone of organized chaos around that she could blame on both her stereotypical Italian family and the business they ran. Today, no matter how much she might have wished it otherwise, was particularly chaotic. She'd had little to no quiet to try and figure out the situation, but she'd formed a plan of how to proceed and thus orders were sent out, plans given to those who needed to know - but only the barest details. There was no idea to risk the Moretti's finding out.

The morning had started out rough, with bad news of course. The poor lad who had been the one to deliver the news was of course on the worst duty Rosa could have thought of at eight in the morning - guard duty - of the family. She wasn't actually going to trust him with anything and there was little way she could turn him out at this point. Once she had had her espresso however she had thought through the situation a little closer, realizing that it wasn't the poor lad's fault but rather Lessy's little friend. Why had Rosa ever let the Irish woman run security in the first place? The girl was useless if she couldn't keep a raid from happening. She'd deal with Darcia later however, the first thing that need to be taken care of was the Moretti's.

Just the name raised Rosa's heckles as she strode through the DeLuca mansion. The lowlifes were quick to step out of her way, knowing better than to pause in their tasks. It was well known that the young leader of the DeLuca mafia had little toleration for slacking or anyone getting in her way. She was like a cat with a mouse, she's toy with them, then she'd come in for the kill. Now that she had the power there were few to stop her. Rose took little notice of them however as her heels clicked across the polished wooden floors, her strides long and quick as her anger turned into an idea.

When Rosa reached her study she phoned the few people who needed to know the plans, set up the meeting, then realized it was much later in the day than she anticipated. Gemma, their cook, was likely putting the finishing touches on dinner which would be served to the family in the formal dinning room and then to the rest of the 'family' at the table in the kitchen. Rosa's stepmom would have it no other way. Rosa wouldn't have minded eating with everyone but it was the one quiet moment in her day when she got to spend time with her padre and Lessy. At exactly six o'clock in the evening Rosa left her office and headed to the dining room. Her family was assembled, her father asked what she was going to do about the Moretti's stunt and Rosa spoke of the matter as if it were typical polite conversation around the dinning table. When done she excused herself to get ready for the meeting and headed out again.

Nicca, one of the few people that Rosa implicitedly trusted, was waiting in Rosa's room to let her know that everyone who needed to get the message and most things were ready to go. "Good. Oh, and let Dante know he's coming." Nikka nodded. "Of course." The woman nodded, making no mention that taking the poor twelve year old message boy might be too young to go on such a mission. She knew better than most Rosa's temper. Rosabella for her part felt the boy needed to learn a lesson. It wasn't long before she had grabbed her purse and coat and headed back downstairs. To keep people from noticing anything she had called the meeting in their weapons storage. Let the Moretti's think they were trying to figure out their losses and tighten security rather than planning an attack.

Outside the house cold air hit the Italian woman's face at full force. She shivered and pulled her gloves on as she made her way to the sleek black car she had claimed as her own back in high school. Normally she'd have someone drive her over, but tonight she needed the time on her own. Likely everyone was already at the meeting, Rosabella would arrive promptly five minutes later as she always did. It kept her from being annoyed at those who showed up late. The car purred to life and silently moved forward out of the driveway and toward the DeLuca cache. It didn't take her long to navigate her way there and before she would have liked she was back out in the cold making her way out of the dimly lit parking lot and into the building.

Most people were already there when Rosa stepped into the room. But a few were missing. Rosa kept her face blank then turned to her sister. "Aless, how many people are we waiting on?" She asked her sister as she took her coat of, neatly placing it on a table behind her sister. One person in particular she noticed wasn't there. The one person who was the cause of the whole damnable situation.

[f a l l i n 4 d a n c e]

Toni was not left on his own for long. "Kat." He nodded in greeting to her, her accent was as strong as ever. "Maybe you will - one day." His weapons developer was a woman whom Toni knew understood the way his life went. She had lived in a Russian family much like his own as a child. Of the people around him, he often felt that she could understand the situation he found himself in. While he trusted her however, he knew that she was a wild card. And then there was Lex. If not for his best friend he sometimes wondered if the situation between him and the Russian would be different.

"She's well." Toni answered the woman's question as he glanced around the room. More people had arrived, he checked each of them out when they came through the door, making sure they were suppose to be there, before he glanced around the room. Lex and Gio both hadn't arrived yet. A chuckle escaped Toni's lips. "Looks like I forgot again. Hope you're not too hungry." The two had bantered about bringing his mother's leftovers since the first time Kalashinkova had found herself at one of the Moretti dinners. He glanced up at Kat to notice she was looking around the room.

With an echoing glance he looked around, "It looks like their not." Which was off, usually Lex was on time. He glanced at the far wall. It was a two way mirror, which from in here looked like a wall made fully of a window. Down on the dance floor there was a commotion as a girl left a man in the middle of the floor in pain. "Or maybe Alex is here after all." Toni commented with a frown. Moments later Lex opened the door and stepped into the room. She looked amazing in that dress of hers, for a moment Toni forgot he annoyance with the scene she had just created downstairs. She crossed over to Kat and himself, reaching over to straighten his tie. Toni tensed, he hated when she did that in public. Even in front of his guys. He was suppose to look put together, not have some one always correcting him. His jaw tightened. "Your late." He said shortly, reigning his temper in. He'd talk to her later about creating scenes and fussing over him. He would just undermine himself if he did so in front of the rest of them.

At Lex's question he looked up at Kat, "Well Kalashinkova, what would your father say?"

[owlskulls]

"When I throw my clip in the AK, I slay from far away.
Everybody, hit the d-e-c-k."

"AK-47, the very best there is.
when you absolutely, positively,
gotta kill every [********] in the room,
accept no substitutes."

Moretti's club, in the company of Antonio Moretti.

Following Antonio's glance, Katerina turned to look through the two-way mirror as well, watching the crowd on the dance floor gather around a man that probably had seen better nights. His attacker, a young woman with flaming hair, was walking towards them with confidence. Alexandra never seized to surprise her. Who knew the girl had that in her? Katerina watched silently as the girl approached the two, her gaze only wavering to notice the flash of lust in her boss' eyes.

When Volkova took over her father's business with the Moretti's she was under the impression the two were related - given their living situation - but eventually, after learning some of their history, she caught on to the obvious attraction between the two friends. Why they complicate it by keeping quiet is beyond her.

The Russian raised an eyebrow at Lex's action of fixing Antonio's tie, which is really rather inappropriate, in her eyes. They act like a married couple, with none of the benefits of marriage. Tired of standing, Katerina shrugged off her jacket and took a seat on an armchair opposite the two Italians, crossing her legs and pulling on the hem of her thigh-length dress. She'd never seen her father with a woman, but she does remember being spanked - with a belt - for throwing a tantrum in front of his men.

"Just waiting on Gio, or are we going to start without him?" Lex questioned, taking a stand by her friend in a rather picturesque manner. If there was a portrait to be taken, this is how Kat would imagine the two positioning themselves. She smiled when Toni turned to her, "Well Kalashinkova, what would your father say?"

"Say?" Volkova chuckled, leaning back in her seat, "I've watched my father beat a man to death with his bare hands for showing late to a meeting..." She mused dryly, her face plain of all emotion as she thought back on using a similar method of punishment just earlier this evening, "But I doubt you'd go to such extremes, since we're talking about your cousin."

Waving a hand while taking another sip of her vodka, Kat smiled, "I think it'd be fair to start without him," she offered, her blue eyes narrowing, "We can fill him in on the details later."

Honored the man would turn to her for advice, Katerina felt a peg of ego warming her chest. Or maybe it's just the liquor working its way down. "I bet the DeLucas," Kat spat the name with obvious disgust, "Are crying on their throne of blood right now." Of course, the Moretti's had a foul feelings towards their rival gang, but none so recent as the ones Katerina felt since her father's murder. She really wished to slaughter them all for taking the man's life.

Shaking her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts, Kalashnikova squeezed the bridge of her nose, instead turning her attention to business, "Yesterday was a success, but I'm afraid my men cannot move the weapons as easily as I thought," the woman admitted bitterly, "There is too much risk in moving the merchandise in private vehicles."


Moretti's club, in the company of Antonio Moretti & Alexandra DeCarte.

[Xothe_jer_bearXo]

Wearing

Wanting a normal life was far out of reach when you were born to one of the most high-ranking, crime bosses in the city of Chicago. Being the youngest daughter to Lorenzo DeLuca was hard enough without the added weight of the family business and the family in general. It had been to much for her in the house and so when she had graduated from high school she had immediately moved out into her own apartment. Things might have been different had her father not been a drunkard and actually had a mother, the woman who was her step-mother, Aless had no love for her. Her real mom had died when she was nine and her sister was ten, she didn't remember much just the fact that her mom was with them one moment and gone the next. She had wished that her father had never remarried but someone had to raise her and Rosabella, it seemed like Arianna had been the perfect choice or at least the only choice. Rosa had immediately liked the woman while Aless fought with her every chance she had. Their step-mother was somewhat of a trophy wife, she had been a model, hosted glamorous parties and knew how to speak Italian fluently but then those who were in the DeLuca family didn't?

So there was no surprise when her phone began buzzing as soon as the sun filtered in from behind her curtains. Aless, being who she was, needed a full eight hours of sleep, normally she could run on less but the last couple of days had caught up on her and her body could no longer take it. Aless grabbed her phone and then threw it across the room, if it had been in anyone else's room the phone probably would have broken but Aless had a tendency to keep her room in a mess unless she knew she was going to have visitors. Mainly because if Rosa showed up and had happened to see her room like that her sister would flip and the other was because of a certain guy she had been seeing for quite a while now. And it would look bad if her room was a mess while he was there, though sometimes she couldn't help it. The day flew by as Aless got ready and did a few errands. She had heard what had happened to their weapons and while she should have been unhappy about it she wasn't.

There was nothing more Alessandra wanted than to get out from underneath her family's thumb and live a somewhat normal life. Though she couldn't help but feel sorry for her friend Darcia. Darcia was the one in charge of anything technical, the girl was a mastermind at it and despite that Rosa would find fault in what had happened. She hated being a buffer between the two but Rosa had a bad temper, one that was at times uncontrollable. Aless arrived at her father's home right on time for dinner, her step-mother obviously disapproving of what she was wearing. While the former model still dressed in dresses, slacks and skirts, like Rosa, the youngest DeLuca was more comfortable in the jeans, sweater and boots she was wearing. Plus, she loved to tick the woman off any chance she got. Dinner was nothing new as she sat to the left of her father and across from her sister. The food was delicious as always but that's what the cooks were paid to do and before long she was leaving the house to meet her sister at a warehouse to discuss the next step in taking the Moretti's down.

As usual Rosa was five minutes late, on the dot. She hated people showing up late and there for it was better for Rosa to be the last one to arrive, though it didn't always happen that way. She was still waiting for Darcia to arrive. Giving her sister a tight-lipped smile, "Darcia and Dante."

[Xothe_jer_bearXo]

Wearing

Lex hadn't caught the look in Toni's eyes as she walked by. When they were surrounded by people like this she tried not to openly look at him. It wasn't out of respect but rather to keep her emotions and thoughts guarded. She knew if anyone was to find out that she loved her boss, it couldn't be good. Although she had the feeling that Katerina knew of her feelings for Toni. When she felt him stiffen underneath her hand, she had to suppress a smile, she knew that he hated it but she couldn't help herself and she had always thought it was better to ask forgiveness than to ask for permission. When she heard his words, she had to refrain from saying or doing anything. Now was not the time, she couldn't cause a scene here like she had done the day before when it was just him and her in his office, in the comfort of their own home. She would never do anything to make Toni or herself look bad in the presence of others. She knew after the meeting was over that Toni would hold her back and talk to her.

She knew by asking Kat what her father would say would please the Russian. She watched as black-haired woman drank her vodka before answering. Alex had to agree with her, they couldn't wait very long for Gio to show up. Time was of the essence and they needed to get down to business, no doubt the DeLuca's were doing the same. "I doubt the DeLuca's are crying." No, they were to proud for that, "They are more than likely trying to come up with a way to retaliate." The faster they were done here the better. She knew of the disgust for the DeLuca's was nothing new coming from Kat, they had killed her father, like they had killed so many other people who got in the way or just happened to be in leagues with the Moretti's. Everyone here in the room had one reason or another for hating them.

Upon hearing of the "success" from the night before, the red-head had to fight the urge to roll her eyes and then they flared with anger when Kat talked about the risk of moving them and how dangerous it was at the moment to do so. While she wanted to open her mouth, she knew it wise not to do so. Toni was the boss and Gio was his second, while she was Toni's best friend she also knew her place and that was not to speak out at a time like this. So now the questioned remained, how were they going to move the weapons before the DeLuca's found them? And how many lives would it cost? Though she doubted anyone, but herself, would really care about the men.

[Oliver Pi]

aristotle said that the law is reason, free from passion
that's probably why we live outside it

It had been a stressful several days leading up to a stressful night, which in turn would undoubtedly lead to stressful meeting this evening. It had been successful for his side, but his cousin was no less likely to break down every move and decision, sparing no criticism of anybody. So Angelo did what he felt necessary and disappeared preemptively. He would return, of course, but for now he was craving a run down Michigan Avenue, along the great lake, with the other hoards of all-too-serious runners. Not only was running a stress reliever, but for an hour a day he could blend in with the masses and feel like maybe he was just another guy in the city. At the end of the day, though, he just wasn't.

It was this thought on his mind as he returned to his apartment for a shower. Like just another guy. He would shower, pull on a pair of grey chinos and a white t-shirt, spray some cologne, and comb his hair. Like just another guy. But then he'd go to the club his family owned and meet his fellow mob members in the VIP area. They would talk about raiding De Luca's armory, casualties, and catch up on their business of prostitution and other unsavory things. Definitely not just another guy. He was in love, like any other guy, but he happened to be in love with his family's long time rival. This was a relatively new realization and further served to remind him that he would never be normal.

Angelo found his way to the club and slipped in the back door and ascended the stairs two at a time, but only after lurking long enough to witness Alexandra punch some creep in the face. Gio grinned to himself, finding it funny, and then pushed through the sea of people to the bar to order a drink once she had disappeared from the vicinity.

When he opened the door upstairs, he saw that he was the only one late and that they were preparing to start without him. Just as well, he figured, taking a seat at the other end of the table from his cousin. He stretched back and propped his feet on the table, pulling up his dark grey hoody over his head.

It wasn't fair, he thought, as he just caught a few words of the De Luca's possible retaliation as he found his seat. He couldn't even hear the name without thinking of Alessandra. The relationship had made things impossibly complicated. It had also shortened his patience greatly when it came to matters between the families. Right now, he could find now words to say at all and hoped that they might not acknowledge his arrival. However, that would never happen.


Dulce bellum inexpertis ♔ Erasmus

[lumineerpioneer]

As Darcia ate in the empty kitchen,she felt something tugging her mind.Something important....She shrugged and relaxed against the counter,resuming with her late night meal.It'd come back to her.They usually did in moments like these.She remember one time when she was with Rosa and-oh s***! The meeting! She had completely forgot about the meeting their great and powerful leader Rosa arranged for tonight.Note the sarcasm there.To be frank,she wasn't a fan of the woman.The same went for her as well.Rosa didn't seem to give much a damn about the thread except in pressing matters like these.Only Darcia knew what she did behind closed doors...The wonders of technology,right?Anyway,Alessandra was the only real person she listened to.She was the one who hired her after all.And after a little while,they became friends.She was the only reason she put up with Rosa and her arsenal of insults.

By this time,she was already flying out the door and towards her 2013 Dodge Challenger.It was a present from her to herself on her last birthday.She never drove it much except for important meetings like these.She didn't trust a taxi or bus to bring her there.She would never hear the end of it from Rosa if she did.So,the woman had no reason to complain if she was a few extra minutes late.After almost getting hit twice,she made it to the meeting.She parked her car a few blocks away to avoid attracting any attention and ran the rest of the way.Why the hell did I choose leather shoes,of all things?The answer was simple;because she liked to dress up.Being in the office the whole day,she had to amuse herself with something.And this was it.Still,if she had none she would be running,she would've choose another pair of shoes entirely.

Soon enough,she came upon the warehouse and swiftly entered.Her shoes loudly clacked against the floor as she walked towards the others,pushing her hair back from her face.She took calm,even breaths through her nose to avoid heaving for breath like she wanted to.But she was in Rosa's presence.It was best not to give her something else to bully her about.God knows she already enough to do so.Darcia herself could count them on one hand alone.

She lightly nodded her head towards Rose as she took her place at the end of the table."Sorry for my tardiness,I ran into some problems on the way here",she softly said,sitting down at the table.She made sure to keep an even gaze on her the whole time.It was like a silent challenge just then.To go ahead and bully her once more.She was skilled enough with a computer to make some trouble for her.At the end of the way,she needed Darcia.

outfit

[owlskulls]

“I felt for the tormented whirlwinds,
Damned for their carnal sins,
Committed when they let their passions
rule their reason.”

Lincoln Park, with Tramp.


A stream of smoke escaped Dante's lips as he brought his cigarette back up to drag another pull. The park was dark, with the occasional illumination of a street lamp, which meant it was also mostly deserted. Regardless of the fairly safe area, the general public seemed to avoid parks after dark. The man chuckled to himself, maybe he was just looking for someone to dare approach him with foul intentions - he hadn't had work in over two weeks, his hands were itching to pull a trigger.

A bark came from the dark - usually grassy - area to Dante's left, and he turned, whistling once, until the figure of a large shaggy dog came running towards him. "Good boy, Tramp," Dan cooed, scratching behind the dog's ear. Tramp was a seven year old mutt Dante had gotten from a rescue shelter once he joined the DeLuca clan, figuring that he'd might as well get a real friend, if he's going to deal with shady mobsters. Fastening the black leather leash on Tramp's collar, Dante let his dog lead the way out of the park, the thin layer of snow crunching under their feet.

Once out of the park, the two made their way to their park view apartment, nodding in greeting to the doorman. Dan had to admit that regardless of his personal feelings about the business the DeLuca sisters took up, the money was too good to reject. Why should he complain? He's got himself a cozy apartment in the business district, smack middle of Chicago, he's got a furry friend to keep him company, and, Dante looked out from his tenth floor living-room window, the view was stunning. Sure, he had to kill over a hundred men and women to get this far, but it's not like they didn't have it coming, anyway.

After a hot shower, Dante pulled on an outfit that seemed fitting for tonight's meeting. It'll be grim, no doubt, considering the events from last night. Black suit seemed right. A wake for their stolen weaponry. With a ruffle to Tramp's furry head, Dante headed down to the garage, where his third love, a black Ford Charger, awaited him, [First being Tramp, followed by his love for Lucy, his PSS silent pistol] Sliding into the driver seat, Serafin took off into the streets.

Recognizing Darcy's Challenger, Dante parked beside it, stepping out into the cold and heading towards the warehouse the DeLucas used for meetings - and other things. Pushing the heavy door open, Dante shrugged his winter coat off, entering the room where most were already sitting around the table. He may or may not be lectured about being late, but he didn't entirely care. He can make up for it, if needed. "Good evening, ladies," Dan greeted with a smile - catching some deadly looks from the men in the room. Taking a seat across from Darcia, who looked far more uncomfortable than ever. He knew Rosa seemed to have it out for the girl, but why that was the case, he wasn't sure.

Brushing the thought away, for now, Dante turned to their boss, his attention just lightly over the mark of not caring. Sometimes, he missed being a free agent, all these sour meetings didn't sit well with him.



DeLuca warehouse, with DeLuca sisters & Darcia.

[f a l l i n 4 d a n c e]

From what Toni had heard of the Russian crime leader he couldn't doubt Kat's words, not when he had seen the same thing done when his grandfather was still in charge. Toni had been a young kid when he had walked into a room covered in blood, a man lying motionless on the ground as his nonno took off a his brass chuckles and calmly laid them on his desk. All of the Moretti gang understood how the world worked under Toni's famed grandfather. When the man had passed away Toni had only been eight, but he had still noticed the way no one in the Moretti's hated the man. Instead they respected him. Toni's father had held a calmer hold on the gang, but Toni had noticed the same dedication as with his grandfather. So when he had returned home to take his own place, he had felt little need for such brash actions. He wasn't above making an example of someone, but he didn't feel it necessary to end someone's life simply because they had been a bit late. Even if it was his cousin.

"Right. Well no sense waiting any longer." Toni accepted a whiskey on rocks as the meeting began. With in moments Lex was being contrary with Kat. He didn't know if they were intending to bait each other but it had no place in the meeting either way. "I don't think it matters what they are doing now. What matters at the moment is what we are doing. Which is planning another hit before they realize it." He interjected loud enough that everyone could hear, including his cousin who was quietly coming into the room. Toni nodded to Gio but then focused on the challenge that Kat had presented. "I'm sure you'll figure it out." Toni told the woman. It held just a hint of sternness, the type that kept his men under his control. A slight example.

"Nice of you to join us Angelo." Toni commented as the man took his normal place. "What do you think we should change this time?" And with that the meeting was in full swing. It didn't take long to iron the details out, make sure everyone had the proper idea. Really they needed a moment to enjoy the evening. They should be celebrating their victory after careful months gathering information and putting it into play they had successfully completed another dangerous task. One more challenging than normal due to the fact that it wasn't routine. Weapons were a whole new ball game, they changed the scene. They'd knock the DeLuca's down a peg.

With the meeting at a close Toni stood up and walked to window, watching the crowd writhing blow him, the beat pounding faintly through the walls. One hand in his pocket he leisurely sipped his drink. As he expected Lex came up next to him. "What the hell was that all about?" Toni asked quietly as he sternly gestured out at the dance floor with his drink his gaze hard as he looked at Lex. She was going to be the end of him, he was sure. If he wasn't the end of her first. His mind whispered. "You know better than to cause a scene. And then to come in here and undermine me like that. You know better. What the hell is with you lately?" Toni's anger was bubbling, but his tone remained quiet, no one would have heard him if they were more than a few feet away. A dessert didn't make up for everything. Lex knew that. If Toni were to really think about it he'd realize that he wasn't actually mad at Lex, but at himself for letting her live a dangerous life. While on one hand it was comforting to know she could take a man down it was dangerous skill, especially when displayed in public. But there was no getting through to her anymore. Once he had let her into his type of life that had been the end and at the time he had had no idea what it would lead to. It had been one of his biggest mistakes, letting her anywhere near the Morettis and DeLucas. Not that he was actually sure he could have gotten through everything without her.

[Xothe_jer_bearXo]

Wearing

Before moving into the Moretti household, Lex had never seen a violent act being carried out. She had lead a sheltered life while her grandmother was alive and her grandmother had a right. She had lost her only son and daughter in law to a car crash, Alex had only been two but she had read the article on it. They had been hit from behind, their car had been pushed into oncoming traffic, the impact was so bad from both sides that her mother and father had died instantly and they had to cut the cars apart so they could reach her in the backseat but she hadn't left the accident unscathed either, though her injuries were a few minor cuts from the glass that had been embedded in her skin. The scars were faint and you had to be close enough to see them. So when Katerina had said that her father had beat a man because he was a late to a meeting, she was surprised and horrified at the thought. She had heard stories of Toni's grandfather and she was glad she had never met him, she could never believe that Toni would do something like that and she prayed he never would.

Lex had heard the door open and Gio crossed the room to join them. Within moments the meeting had started, plans were being made to continue trying to take the weapons away from the DeLuca's to bring them down a peg and then be able to bring them down and shut them down forever, not that she thought it would work. Steal your enemies belongings and then try to sell them, it was going to take a lot of work and it wasn't going to be easy. Not that anything about the life she had was easy, not anymore. The days were getting longer and the nights colder and lonely. The stress was starting to get to her and she knew it was only a matter of time before everything caught up with her and she had a mental breakdown. The nightmares had already started up, ones that she hadn't had since she was a little girl and now she felt more alone than ever before. Most nights she couldn't sleep and when she did she woke up sobbing, grateful that no one besides Mama Moretti had noticed the dark circles that had started to form under her eyes. She often wondered what her grandmother would think of the life she lived, the person she had become, of who and what the Moretti's really were. Not that she thought her grandmother would really care about the Moretti's, she had thought very highly of them.

After an hour everyone started leaving, she to started to move from her spot but then saw Toni move to the window wall. She knew he wanted to talk to her, the tone he had used with her earlier and said as much. When she was standing a few feet away from the man she loved, he turned to her, her body immediately stiffened. The look on his face would make others want to run for cover but she stood her ground, arms folded across her chest, a hard look in her eyes that were blazing with fury. "That," she spat out while she pointed to the floor, "Was a woman having to defend herself. Unless you wanted me to stand there and let that piece of s**t drag me home while he did whatever he wanted to me." She really thought Toni knew her better, she never fought unless she had to, unless she had to defend herself or someone she loved or someone who couldn't. "I'm not that shy, innocent, helpless little girl that you met all those years ago, Antonio. What would you have had me do? Hmm?"

Then there was the remark about his tie, really? "You're going to yell at me for fixing your tie so you wouldn't look a fool in front them? Fine, next time I'll leave it alone. What the hell is wrong with me? What the hell is wrong with you?" Alex looked him over with a sad smile and sighed. "I guess we've both changed. You're not the same man I've come to know and love."